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Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_61_-_Skydark_Spawn
The albino turned.
"I don't want to hear anything about the ones that got away."
Jak unholstered his .357 Magnum Colt Python. "No worry. Fish not escape."
WITHOUT PURVIS LOOKING over the crew, work in the orchards was almost pleasant
for Ryan and Brody. They were pulling weeds again, but no one was pushing them
hard, since most everyone's thoughts were on the afternoon's contest.
At morning break, an older man approached Ryan, standing over him and Brody as
they drank some much needed water.
"I know what you did to Purvis," the old man said.
Ryan was cautious. "He a friend of yours?"
"No, sir! He was no friend of anyone on this crew, especially the women."
"So I gathered."
Brody was growing suspicious of the old man. "You got something to say, old-
timer?"
"Only this." He paused and licked his lips with his tongue. "The women, them
over there "
Ryan looked to where the old man was pointing and saw six women huddled
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Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_61_-_Skydark_Spawn together in a circle. Two of the
women waved at him. Ryan waved back.
"They're grateful for what you done, and they want you to know they'll be
cheering for you today."
"Thank you," Ryan said.
"And they wanted me to give you this." He held out his fist, turned his
fingers over to catch the sun, then opened his hand. In his palm, a shiny bit
of metal glinted in the morning sunlight.
"Brass knuckles," Brody said.
"I've been keeping them in case Purvis ever wanted to roll me. I wouldn't have
stopped him, but I might have at least broken his nose." The old man laughed
then, a dry, wheezing sort of laugh.
"Weapons like this are allowed?" Ryan asked, taking the brass knuckles from
the old man and slipping them over the fingers of his right hand.
Brody nodded. "The others will be trying to bring everything they can in with
them, too, from spikes to knife blades."
"What about the sec men?"
"They'll be looking the other way."
Ryan nodded, pressing his brass-ringed fist into the palm of his left hand. It
would certainly do some damage, and it was comfortable enough that he could
still hold a sword or club in his right hand while the knuckles were on his
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Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_61_-_Skydark_Spawn fingers. "Thank you, to you and
the ladies."
"No, thank you
," the old man said. "Today's been almost like a holiday without that bastard
Purvis around. So even if you get chilled in the arena, you've already done us
a good deed."
"You're welcome," Ryan said. "I guess."
CLARISSA BROUGHT Jak and Doc down to the river where the water ran fast in a
swirling froth of water and foam.
"There are fish here?" Jak asked.
"Not here." Clarissa gestured across the river. "There's a whirlpool on the
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other side. With the lower water level, the fish get trapped inside it,
swirling around and around. We've tried to catch them all sorts of ways, with
our bare hands and with sharpened sticks, but the fish are too fast."
They began walking across the river, the water being just low enough for them
to be able to make it on foot if they were careful.
"And we're supposed to shoot them?" Dean asked.
"Do you see any other food around?" Clarissa responded with her own question.
"No, but I "
Suddenly Dean's voice was gone as he slipped on the rocks and fell under the
water.
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Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_61_-_Skydark_Spawn
"Dean!" Clarissa shouted.
He was hanging on to a jutting rock with both hands, the flow of water trying
to push him downstream. "I can't pull myself up," he said, swallowing a
mouthful of water in the process.
Jak took off his coat and extended his left hand to Clarissa. "Grab hand!"
She took it.
He then extended his arms and took one sleeve of his jacket in his right hand.
He swung the jacket toward Dean so the other sleeve fell near the rock he was
clutching.
Dean reached for the jacket, which was fluttering in the flow of water, but
when he let go of the rock with one hand, he was nearly swept away by the
river. He was forced to grab hold again with two hands.
"Jak, look!" Clarissa screamed.
Jak glanced downstream and saw what looked like rocks moving against the flow.
"What is it?"
"A mutie fish," she shouted. "A big one, muskie or salmon, maybe even a mutie
sturgeon."
The fish was getting closer, its huge mouth open wide to catch everything the
river sent its way. It scooped up dead fish and other refuse without ever
having to move more than a few dozen feet left or right. If Dean let go, he'd
be swept
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Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_61_-_Skydark_Spawn away by the water into the fish's
belly in seconds.
"Hang on, Dean!" Clarissa shouted.
Jak kept trying to work his jacket into position, but he was short by a couple
of feet.
"Give me pants," he said.
Without hesitation, Clarissa slid off her pants, stepped out of them and tied
one of the legs to Jak's jacket sleeve. Then she held Jak's arm while he tried
reaching
Dean.
This time the pant leg landed over Dean's hands. With a quick movement of his
right hand, the boy grabbed the pant leg. Then, with it securely wrapped
around his wrist, he let go of the rock.
"Pull!" Jak said, straining against the current.
"Jak, the fish!"
The albino teen looked past Dean. The fish was swimming against the current
toward their fallen friend, as if Dean were bait at the end of a line. They
continued to reel him in, but they couldn't pull fast enough. With a mighty
flip of its tail the fish lunged forward, its upper lip brushing up against
Dean's boots.
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"Hurry up!" Dean yelled.
The fish kept coming, and Jak realized that even after they pulled Dean in,
the mutie fish would still be able to move upstream against the current with
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